Sometimes, it seems like companies in the gaming world don’t have a clue how to advertise their games. Obviously, Nintendo have done a brilliant job with marketing the Wii (and Wii Fit in particular), but in a way they have created a separate market. Gamers that play games without moving their bodies tend not to be sold on the Wii’s marketing. Many companies trying to appeal to the “hardcore” gamers will just try to use the methods that they use for any other market, which I feel doesn’t work that effectively. Sending press releases and review copies out to games writers in an attempt to get them the spread hype seems to be the fall-back method of advertising any game to the niche market, as well as just placing frankly obnoxious ads on these websites, sometimes which take over the whole site (that said, however, I know ad revenue is needed and so I don’t blame the actual websites).

While I don’t doubt for a second that placing ads and using press releases works well, there are definitely better methods of marketing to gamers. Recently Hideo Kojima has posted a huge teaser for what everyone assumes is Metal Gear Solid 5 which, needless to say, has caused a lot of speculation and hype already. We barely know anything about the game and we’re still excited for it. This, my friends, is marketing done right.

I realise this is only really selling the game to the fans of the series, but this can easily create new fans once the press pick up on it, especially when (and it is a when) more and more information trickles out and gives the game huge amounts of exposure. This method is not obnoxious advertising, it is not directly telling the press to write about the game, it is not patronising and removed from the product. Even gamers who don’t have an interest in the series will surely be able to appreciate that this is a better way to sell a game than, say, this.

Another example of advertising done right is Valve’s model. Valve have come up with a brand new idea called “appreciating their customers”. Left 4 Dead and Team Fortress 2 are the best examples of this. They are regularly patched with bugfixes and new content, continually evolving the game. Every time something new is released for those games, it is reported by the press. For TF2, they have an update week where a new thing is revealed every day; this of course means a slot on almost every gaming blog every day of that week. The game is then made free for one weekend, and its price is cut for that time. This means that every time Valve adds a new slew of content to the game, thousands and thousands of new players can play, and most of them are hooked (thanks to the fact that Valve’s games are brilliantly well designed, polished, and most of all fun as hell).

As you can tell, this process is rather beneficial to Valve. Their sales, they have reported, go through the roof when the update hits- not to mention that thanks to the fact that most sales will likely be through the digital distribution outlet Steam and will therefore generate a lot of revenue. The thing is, this process is also brilliant for the gamers. I’m still playing TF2 every day, and the game came out almost two years ago. The new content is always fantastic and constantly breathes life into a game that doesn’t need life breathed into it.

There is another effect of this process, as well. I have come to trust Valve as a company. I have no doubt that every product they release will be top-notch, and I will have no reservations buying anything from them, as I know it will be good value for money, very high quality, and will be continually supported as long as people play it. Alright, I’ll stop all the Valve-love now, but there are other examples.

I believe that Kojima will never produce a bad Metal Gear game. I believe that Criterion will never release a bad racing game. I believe that Bethesda will never release a bad RPG. I believe that Nintendo will never release a bad Mario or Zelda game. Thanks to the consistently brilliant and polished games that these developers have produced, they have ensured that almost every game they release in the future will be purchased by me. I’m sure everyone has at least one company that they trust, and it is these companies that I think have managed the best method of marketing of all: a good reputation.

More stuff you might like:

• Cookigaki Blog, Stardate 052109

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